January 21, 2018, Current Affairs, Quiz - Current Affairs MCQ

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah launched “Yuva Udghosh programme” in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Shah launched this programme in presence of Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and UP BJP President Mahendra Nath Pandey. The launch programme was held at sports ground of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, where Mr. Shah also addressed 17000 youths. ‘Yuva Udghosh programme’ focuses on enrolling youths, above 17 of age, who will eligible for voting in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The use and sale of imported petroleum coke has been banned in the National Capital Region (NCR) by the environment ministry in order to control air pollution. On 19th January 2018, the environment ministry issued a notification stating that, cement plants in NCR should obtain permission from state pollution control board to use pet coke as fuel. Even after obtaining permission, pet coke should not be stored for more than its 3 months consumption period. Import of pet coke for trading purposes is banned in NCR States. These restrictions have been made under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Only consented and registered industrial units in NCR will be allowed to directly import pet coke. It should be imported in the name of user industrial units for their own use only.

The DefExpo India 2018 will be hosted by Chennai for the first time from April 11 to 14 at a temporary expo centre on East Coast Road near Mahabalipuram. DefExpo India is the largest event of India’s defence sector. It is held once in 2 years. It is a Land, Naval & Internal Homeland Security Systems Exhibition. It displays latest technologies and products manufactured by both Indian and foreign companies. Nearly 80 countries will showcase their defence potential in the DefExpo India 2018. Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made this announcement at the Defence Industry Development Meet in Chennai.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has permitted partial withdrawal under the National Pension System (NPS) for specified expenses such as purchase/construction of residential premises, higher education of children, and marriage of children and treatment of critical illness. This relaxation of partial withdrawal (up to 25%) is applicable only to those who have contributed for three years. However, a subscriber fulfilling the above condition is permitted partial withdrawal only three times during the tenure of the subscription. This relaxation does not apply in case if a subscriber already owns a residential house or a flat (either individually or in the joint name), other than ancestral property. NPS is a government-sponsored pension scheme, which has been made available to all India citizens since 2009.

On 20th January 2018, the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018, was held at the NSCI Dome in Worli, Mumbai. The 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards was hosted by Bollywood’s top actor Shah Rukh Khan. Film maker Karan Johar co-presented the event.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced acquisition of government’s entire 51.11 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). ONGC will pay Rs 473.97 per share for 77.8 crore shares of HPCL held by government. Thus, the deal value stands at Rs 36915 crore. This deal will help Central Government to achieve its annual disinvestment target for the first time ever. It will be an all-cash deal and is expected to be completed by end of January 2018. ONGC will resort to short-term borrowing for raising funds for this acquisition.

China launched two high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in northwest China. The satellites that were launched were commercial satellites named ‘Jilin-1 Video 07 and 08’, independently developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd. Jilin-1 Video 07 and 08 were launched onboard Long March-11 rocket along with four other small commercial satellites, including one satellite of Canada. Jilin-1 Video 07 and 08 will provide remote sensing data. Its services will not only be used by government but also by industry users along with eight previously launched Jilin-1 satellites.

INSV Tarini, Indian Navy sailboat with an all-women crew rounded Cape Horn. The all-women team is headed by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi. Other crew members are Lt. Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P Swathi and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta. They started their global circumnavigation tour in September 2017 from Goa. The crew rounded Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America on 19th January 2018 and hoisted the national flag in the sailing vessel. This is considered as one of the most difficult parts of the global circumnavigation tour.

India defeated Pakistan and won the Blind Cricket World Cup 2018 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in UAE. Pakistan batted first and scored 308 runs in 40 overs. India chased the target and won at 309 runs. The Indian team was led by captain Ajay Reddy. India had also won the T20 Blind World Cup final in 2017, defeating Pakistan.

Central Government will be declaring 2018 as the ‘national year of millets’. Request for declaring 2018 as the ‘national year of millets’ has been made by Karnataka. It is to be noted that Karnataka is India’s leader in the millet sector. The objective behind this decision is to increase awareness about health benefits of Millets. This awareness will lead to higher demand for drought-resistant varieties of millets, which in turn will help poor and marginal farmers to fetch better prices. In terms of nutritional value, millets are superior to wheat and rice as it contains higher level of protein with more balanced amino acid profile, crude fibre and minerals.